


the world may break upon the force of my will

by rightsidethru



Category: Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Hawkeye (Comics), Iron Man (Comic), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, The Avengers (2012)
Genre: AU, BAMF!Hawkeye, Community: avengerkink, F/F, F/M, IronHawk - Freeform, M/M, PHIL COULSON LIVES!, avengerkink, hello shiny prompt that I could not resist, weird mix of comics and movies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-12-12
Updated: 2012-12-12
Packaged: 2017-11-20 23:10:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/590712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rightsidethru/pseuds/rightsidethru
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Broken but unbowed:</p><p>Hawkeye may have lost his sight, temporarily or not, but that didn't make him any less deadly.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the world may break upon the force of my will

**Author's Note:**

> Saw a prompt over at Avengerkink and... well, I couldn't resist. 
> 
> \---
> 
> PROMPT:  
> http://avengerkink.livejournal.com/12672.html?thread=29360768#t29360768  
> \-- There are plenty (and great) fics where Clint is either at the risk of losing his vision and panics or where he actually loses it and is devastated (understandably). 
> 
> But what I'm looking for his Clint losing his vision ('temporarily' probably is going to work better for this prompt than 'permanently'), only he doesn't freak out. Maybe - since it is one of his biggest fears - he used to train blindfolded in order to be prepared for the worst case (as much as one can be). Or he refuses to be defeated that way and with the help of his team learns to adapt. (A new targeting system from Tony for example?)
> 
> Basically what I want is blind!Clint who gives Daredevil a run for his money, being deadly as hell, scaring the shit out of the bad guys 'cause he just won't be stopped and refusing to let down his new found family.
> 
> While my OTP is Clint/Coulson I'm okay with pretty much all Clint pairings - slash or het - or GEN.

**

 _Life is a series of experiences, each one of which makes us bigger, even though sometimes it is hard to realize this. For the world was built to develop character, and we must learn that the setbacks and grieves which we endure help us in our marching onward._  
~ Henry Ford

***

A man is but a man: 

Fragile, easily broken--skin and bones and organs the outer meat hiding the soul within. A man is but a man, and a man is forever and always mortal.

This was a fact that was oftentimes forgotten, disregarded when the men and women who made up the Avengers were, more often than not, a bit more 'extra' than 'ordinary.' Gods, mutants, those with so many heightened senses, products of freak accidents, magic users capable of more than just card tricks and pulling rabbits from hats, geniuses who put their intellect towards helping the rest of mankind: the list was long and varied, and yet still somehow managing to focus, to zero in on a promise that Tony Stark had once upon a time ago made:

_Because if we can't protect the Earth, you can be damned well sure we'll avenge it._

A collection of extraordinary men and women--

Who still managed to be oh-so very human.

\---

The mission had been going surprisingly well. If anything, however, that little fact had put most of the team on higher alert: nothing was ever truly easy, not for them, and the ease of the fighting sharpened tensions to a razor's edge, each member preparing him--or her--self for the worst that was to come. And yet...

Even prepared, even waiting for it, the explosion of A.I.M.'s most recent HQ still managed to catch the Avengers by surprise, bodies flung through the air as those furthest from the blast center tried their best to ride through the explosion before making their way immediately to check on fallen comrades.

The sound of falling rubble, crackling flames, and the soft groans of 'I'm definitely gonna be feeling that in the morning.' filled the air for several stretched moments before, finally, the reassuring background static of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s comm units flickered back to life and Coulson's brusque "Status report." filled each of the Avengers' earpieces.

There followed a flurry of replies--all positive, all confirmations that the member was alive and well (if a bit banged up), with Tony's typical sarcastic retort when it came time for response--each member following the other until it was finally Clint's time to check in.

Silence.

Stillness stretched amongst the members, chests tightening and stomachs dropping--waiting only seconds for Clint to offer up his own snarky retort--but as the radio silence stretched on, bodies were just as suddenly in motion once again, limbs scrabbling and fingers desperate for purchase on unsteady ground as the search for their missing teammate immediately began.

Time stretched, becoming undefineable: seconds stretching to days and minutes to hours, mutable and hazy, the worst fears humming distantly in the backs of minds as, a lifetime away, personnel on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier waited with baited breath: hoping ( _I Still Believe In Heroes._ ) for good news.

Finally, an eternity and a half later--

"We found him!" tinny and still filled with static, but the relief in Steve's voice was obvious. "He's pretty banged up and unconscious, but Hawkeye's alive and breathing steadily! Request for immediate air evac."

Exhileration, cheers at the good news, spontaneous (though brief) hugs amongst colleagues at the knowledge that the Avengers were all right, despite the scare:

But a man was still a man. 

And a man was easily broken.


End file.
